What is the Difference Between SATA and RAID

The main difference between SATA and RAID is that the SATA allows connecting and transferring data from a storage device to a computer while RAID allows storing the same data in different places on multiple hard disks to protect data from drive failures.

SATA works as the interface to connect storage devices such as hard disk, optical drives or solid state drive to the computer. It is cost-effective and more flexible. It allows transferring data at a higher speed and provides efficient transferring through IO queuing protocol. On the other hand, RAID is a method to protect data. It copies data into multiple disks so that the data can be used when a failure occurs.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is SATA
     – Definition, Functionality
2. What is RAID
     – Definition, Functionality
3. What is the Difference Between SATA and RAID
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

eSATA, eSATAp, Hard Disk, SATA, Serial ATA, Solid  State Drive, RAID

What is SATA

SATA stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. It is also called the Serial ATA. It is an interface that allows exchanging data among the computer bus and the storage device. It is a serial connector and allows transferring data faster at a higher signalling rate. SATA reduces the cable size and the cost. Most modern desktops and laptops use SATA.

Figure 1: SATA

There are two versions of SATA called eSATA and eSATAp. eSATA is used as an external connector. It cannot be used to supply power from the motherboard to the hard drive. On the other hand, eSATAp combines bother eSATA and USB into a single port.

What is RAID

Data is stored in disks. If a failure occurs, the data can be erased. Thus, there should be a mechanism to avoid the data loss during a disk failure. RAID provides a solution to this issue. RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks.   It copies data into multiple disks, avoiding the data loss during a disk failure.  

Figure 2: RAID 1

There are various types of RAID. RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 are some of them. RAID 0 is not very fault tolerant. It divides the data into two separate disks. If one disk fails, there is no access to the data stored in that disk. On the other hand, it provides faster access to data. RAID 1 provides more fault tolerance. It copies data into more than one disk. If one disk fails, there is no issue since the other disk has the same data.

RAID 5 requires three or more disks. It is fast and stores a large amount of data, and divides the data into each disk and one disk stores parity. Parity helps to recover the data from a failure. On the other hand, the actual amount of data that can be stored is minimized due to parity. RAID 10 is a combination of RAID 1 and RAID 0. It is fault tolerant due to RAID 1 and it is faster due to RAID 0. 

Difference Between SATA and RAID

Definition

SATA is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid state drives.  RAID is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical disk drive components into one or more logical units for data redundancy and to improve performance. Thus, this definition itself constitutes the difference between SATA and RAID.

Functionality

Furthermore, SATA allows transferring data from the storage device to the computer. RAID allows copying multiple data to several hard disks to protect data. This is the major difference between SATA and RAID.

Long Form

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment is the long form of SATA while Redundant Array of Independent Disks is the long form of RAID.

Conclusion

The difference between SATA and RAID is that SATA allows connecting and transferring data from storage device to computer while RAID allows storing the same data in different places on multiple hard disks to protect data from drive failures.

Reference:

1.“Serial ATA.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Sept. 2018, Available here.
2. “What Is RAID 0, 1, 5, & 10?” , PowerCert Animated Videos, 9 Aug. 2015, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “541064” (CC0) via Pixabay
2. “RAID 1” By en:User:Cburnett – Own workThis W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia